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In Pictures: Myanmar’s coup opponents gather for major protests

Southeast Asian country has seen daily demonstrations since February 6, drawing hundreds of thousands of people.

Teachers flash the defiant three-finger salute during a protest against the Myanmar military coup outside the UN office in Yangon. [Nyein Chan Naing/EPA]
Published On 17 Feb 2021

Critics of Myanmar’s military coup gathered on Wednesday in a major show of opposition to the army’s assertion of public support for overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

News reports said security forces were surrounding the demonstrators.

Protesters are deeply sceptical of the military government’s assurances that there will be a fair election sometime in the future and it would hand over power, even as police filed an additional charge against overthrown government leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Nobel Peace laureate, detained since the February 1 coup, now faces a charge of violating a natural disaster management law, as well as charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios.

“What they said was totally untrue. I don’t acknowledge them at all,” a protester who gave her name as Khin said of the military’s news conference when it again defended the coup saying a November 8 election, swept by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, was fraudulent.

“They said there was vote fraud but look at the people here now,” said Khin who was among thousands gathering at the Sule Pagoda, a central protest site in the main city of Yangon.

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said he feared that there was a possibility of violence against the protesters and made an urgent call on any country with influence over the generals, and businesses, to press them to avoid it.

In Yangon and elsewhere, motorists responded to a “broken-down car campaign” spreading on social media, stopping their supposedly stalled cars, with bonnets raised, on streets and bridges to block them to police and military trucks.

“We want the truth,” said Ko Ye, 26, whose taxi was part of the break-down protest at the Sule Pagoda.

“The truth is democracy and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.”

The UN expert on human rights in Myanmar warned of the possibility of major violence as demonstrators gather again to protest the military's seizure of power. [AP Photo]
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Demonstrators hold placards calling for the release of Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. [Lynn Bo Bo/EPA]
Protesters block a major road during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon. [Ye Aung Thu/AFP]
Opponents of Myanmar's military coup parked their cars in the middle of city streets and bridges on Wednesday to block police and army trucks moving around to break up protests. [Reuters]
The car campaign came as democracy activists aimed to draw huge crowds in Yangon and elsewhere in what they hope will be a major show of opposition to the army's overthrow and arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. [Sai Aung Main/AFP]
Hundreds of people have been rounded up by the army, many in night-time raids. Those arrested include much of the NLD's senior leadership. [Lynn Bo Bo/EPA]
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Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said more than 450 arrests had been made since the coup. [Reuters]
Myanmar's military charged civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi with a second offence on Tuesday under the country's natural disaster management law, prompting fears of clashes with security forces. [Lynn Bo Bo/EPA]
Calls for a 'broken-down car campaign' spread quickly on social media after the military's overnight block on the internet was lifted. Numerous images soon appeared of supposedly stalled cars, with bonnets raised, clogging streets. [Reuters]